by Ken Midkiff
There has been a lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri for over a century. A small town located on the Mississippi River about 20 miles south of St. Louis, all that is visible from I-55 is the towering smokestack of the smelter owned by the Doe Run Company. Joachim Creek runs through the sleepy community, winding in and out among the trees, eventually finding its way to the Big River.
However, all is not well in Herculaneum. For as many decades as the lead smelter has existed, the community and its children have felt the impacts of emissions from the smelter’s smokestack.
Lead is a basic element. It is toxic to humans when it reaches a certain level in the system. It causes developmental problems in children – the younger the exposure, the more problems that occur. Adults are also at risk when exposed to high levels.
The Herculaneum smelter, the largest in the world, creates such high levels. And the blood lead levels in children, as determined by health studies by the Missouri Department of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, have reached levels that health and development are impaired. Other substances spewed from the smelter and placed in a slag heap are equally troubling: cadmium, arsenic, copper, nickel and zinc, to name a few.
The health studies found that the blood lead levels in children had reached levels that caused considerable harm. The Center for Disease Control recommends that any child with a blood lead level of more than 10 micrograms per deciliter (some health professionals assert that any amount of lead is cause for concern) should receive medical attention. There were forty children in the area with levels of more than 10, eight with more than 20, and two with levels greater than 30. From a report: “The average level of lead in the blood was 12 micrograms per deciliter for children and toddlers living within 1.5 miles of the smelter.”
A consent decree, signed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MODNR), and the Doe Run Company notes that, “The conditions present at the facility may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health, welfare or the environment.” This document, effective May 29, 2001, notes that the problem is caused by lead in the soils from airborne releases of lead particles from the Herculaneum smelter.
In short, there is a very real health problem and the agencies in charge of protecting the public health have confirmed this. But, the action by these same agencies has been too little, too late.
Rather than taking the steps to control the emissions, and prevent further endangerment of the public health, the EPA and MODNR have essentially signed-off on giving the company another five years (or more) to come into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. This inaction was taken in spite of the fact that this smelter has been in violation of the Clear Air Act since its inception in 1968, in violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and in spite of the fact that the health of several generations have been impaired.
There have been previous such inactions by EPA and MODNR - all promising to bring the company under control and to protect the public health. But when the Doe Run Company couldn’t or wouldn’t meet the provisions of consent decrees or State Implementation Plans, compliance plans were re-negotiated, and extensions granted.
In a meeting of area citizens in mid-July, the frustration and despair surfaced and erupted. They relayed their health problems and that of their children. State and federal officials in attendance were berated (with considerable use of expletives) by about 40 residents who demanded accountability: “We are sick and tired of delays and excuses – when are you people going to do something?”
Good question.